


Claustrophobia & Confessions

by velveteenvamp



Series: A Study In Red [1]
Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Claustrophobia, F/F, Gen, I wanted to make it a bit deeper than the scene in that episode, Panic Attacks, Zoey being an angelic wholesome bean, Zoey has so much potential you guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28571568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velveteenvamp/pseuds/velveteenvamp
Summary: Set during Zeke And Ye Shall Find, an exploration into the beginning of Gwen and Zoey's relationship with some of my own embellishments added.
Relationships: Gwen/Zoey (Total Drama)
Series: A Study In Red [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2093469
Kudos: 5





	Claustrophobia & Confessions

Gwen was sure that she was going to die. 

There was a whole list of things that she could tolerate: heights, Chef's gross food, sharks, most of the other contestants... hell, she could handle just about anything that had been thrown her way over the course of _Total Drama_. Yet, there was still one thing that had bothered her for as long as she could remember and that thing was cramped spaces. Even just _thinking_ about them made her palms feel clammy.

So, it was just her luck that she had fallen into the old mine during Chris's rescue mission. That would have been bad enough by itself, but coupled with the fact that her flashlight was being intermittent... Gwen was officially _freaking out_. Honestly, she was surprised that her heart hadn't pounded out of her chest with how quickly it was beating.

Shaking as the air seemed to shrink around her, Gwen unsuccessfully tried to take deep, meditative breaths but she couldn't get her mind to quieten. Panic was overriding any sense of logic she had and she felt like she was drowning. It was even worse than the time where she had been buried on the beach during _Island_ because, this time, she was sure that nobody even knew she was down here, underground in a creepy mine on the verge of a nervous breakdown, completely and utterly alone.

Then, her flashlight cut out for good, leaving her in pitch black darkness.

Yep, she was _definitely_ going to die. 

* * *

The second that she saw Gwen take an unexpected trip ( _literally_ ) into the mine, Zoey immediately jumped in after her. Honestly, she hadn't even thought about it, it had just been an immediate response to try and rescue her. 

As she navigated her way through the foul smelling, seemingly endless maze of tracks that seemed to lead to nowhere and abandoned mine carts, Zoey began to wish that she hadn't been quite so impulsive. Even though she wasn't claustrophobic or anything like that, she was starting to feel like the walls were closing in. 

_Come on, Zoey, focus!_ she mentally chided herself. All she had to do was think back to the challenge her and the team had done back on _Revenge_. If she had made it out of the mine before, she could do it again. All she needed was a strategy, and she found a stroke of inspiration when she saw a particularly unusual dink in one of the tracks. She seemed to remember reading somewhere that remembering details about your environment could be helpful if you were lost. It was worth a shot, right?

Thankfully, Zoey had a good memory when it came to visual stimuli such as landmarks and patterns (probably from all of the time she had spent sewing), so she used it to her advantage. Zoey took mental notes of anything and everything that stood out in the environment: certain markings on the carts, the amount of cobwebs in a corner and other seemingly small details that would add up to a far greater picture. 

Miraculously, it worked because she soon found herself making progress. Suddenly, she began to feel a lot more optimistic about the crappy situation she had found herself in. Just as she started taking stock of the amount of cobwebs, she heard a scream that pierced through her thoughts. _Gwen_. 

Hurrying to the source of the sound, Zoey shone the beam of her flashlight around the area and she was met with another scream as her body collided into another one. 

* * *

" _Zoey!_ " Gwen yelled both out of surprise and relief, her voice raspier than usual from the amount of screaming she had done. 

"There you are!" the redhead smiled in relief as she put a tender hand on Gwen's trembling arm. 

"You scared me half to death," Gwen scolded her before throwing herself against the shorter, now thoroughly stunned girl, "thank you _so much_." she breathed a heavy sigh of relief, still not prepared to let go of her saviour. 

Honestly, Zoey hadn't pegged Gwen as being the type of person who'd be much bothered by the dark. But as the goth clung onto her like her life depended on it, she had a sudden epiphany. Wasn't there an episode of _Island_ where all the campers confessed their biggest fears and didn't Gwen say that hers was being _buried alive_? Of course, it all made complete sense: she was claustrophobic. 

"I'm here." she comfortingly said as she gave Gwen a gentle pat on the back. "Deep breath." Zoey encouraged, remembering a technique one of her therapists had taught her for dealing with anxiety during a panic attack. 

Gwen inhaled a long draw of musty air, her dark eyes still wide with fright.

"Blow out the candle." Zoey instructed her as she held out her index finger. 

Closing her eyes and thinking back to the candles she had blown out on birthday cakes of the past, Gwen did as she was told, and to her complete astonishment, it _worked_. 

"Better?" Zoey asked with a smile, noticing how Gwen's shoulders seemed a lot less tense after the exercise. After Gwen nodded, she led the way. "Good, let's keep moving." she brightly encouraged her.

* * *

As they navigated their way through the mine, Gwen was still in shock at how easily Zoey had managed to pull her out of her panic. She always knew that Zoey was a good person and she was obviously smart enough to breeze through most of the challenges, but before today, she didn't realise just _how_ good she was. "How did you know what to do back there?" she eventually asked.

"Oh, well... it was just a little technique that one of my therapists taught me." Zoey hesitantly admitted, shame casting over her brown eyes. 

Gwen's eyebrows raised at the revelation that came from the perky redhead. Of all of the contestants who she would have pegged as needing psychiatric support, Zoey was _way_ down on her list. Aside from maybe Bridgette, Zoey was easily the most normal person she had met during her stint on _Total Drama_. She decided not to ask any further questions because she didn't want to pry and she hated the thought of making Zoey uncomfortable. 

But, Zoey soon brought it up again. "You don't think that's weird, right? Me having been in therapy?" 

Momentarily, Gwen stopped walking and faced her newfound friend. "What? No, of course not." she easily assured her. "I mean, maybe it's a little surprising because you're so _normal_ compared to the rest of the cast, but there's nothing wrong with getting help."

Zoey couldn't help but giggle at being called normal ~~\--~~ people in her hometown would certainly beg to differ. "I have anxiety and it was at its worst during my freshman year of high school, so my parents put me through therapy. It really helped." 

"It's cool your parents supported you. I've been to therapy too, for depression, mainly." Gwen found herself telling Zoey. Usually, she wouldn't even think about confiding in someone with her most intimate secrets and unresolved issues from her past, but Zoey just made it so _easy_. 

For the rest of the walk, they chatted about all sorts of things, ranging from how much they hated the people they went to school with to their favourite obscure movies. By the time they made it safely out of the mine, they both knew that they had found a companion in each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I wanted to write this to set the stage for further plots I have planned for Gwen and Zoey because I'm a sucker for that special moment where people connect. 
> 
> This is also going to be a part of a larger Zoey series I have planned and it'll probably be referenced in later works involving this pairing.


End file.
